Taberna 21, on Via Argentina across the street from Andres Bello Park, is basically a Spanish rock and roll tavern, with a soundscape dominated by Spanish music videos (when they don't have a live band playing, as they sometimes do), more drinkers than diners in the Monday night crowd we encountered, a full bar and no no-smoking section. The place is sparsely decorated, with maps and provincial emblems of Spain.

However, Taberna 21 is also a Spanish-style restaurant. The appetizer menu seems to have as many or more entries than the entrees on the main menu, almost all of them in various Spanish regional styles. This visit by a colleague and I was for a relatively modest meal, so we skipped the appetizers, but the Pulpo a la Gallega and other possibilities will probably bring me back again.

I ordered the chicken breasts in red wine sauce, my colleague the pork chops in pineapple and white wine sauce. I suppose that authenticity would have called for Spanish wine with the meal, but we ordered beer instead.

The service was excellent, but the food didn't come instantly. That was a good thing --- the meals are cooked individually to order, rather than dried in chafing dishes, frozen and then microwaved, or churned out fast food-style. I have only praise for the food at Taberna 21.

The prices at Taberna 21 are just a bit higher than some of the other dining possibilities up or down Via Argentina --- dinner, a few beers and tip for two came to about $25 --- but it was a reasonable investment.

On our way to visit Taberna 21, Via Argentina seemed unusually dark. The streetlights, with but one exception, were all in working order, but so many restaurants that would have had their lights on have gone out of business in the course of Panama's economic troubles. It's a good thing that Taberna 21 has not been one of the casualties.

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